A method and apparatus which enhance a voice signal received by a reception terminal from a transmission terminal, the method including: detecting a magnitude of a noise signal peripheral to the reception terminal; checking a volume level which is set in the reception terminal while the voice signal is received from the transmission terminal; and adaptively enhancing at least one of a volume and an articulation of the voice signal on the basis of a magnitude of the noise signal and the checked volume level.
Legal claims defining the scope of protection. Each claim is shown in both the original legal language and a plain English translation.
1. A method of enhancing a voice signal received by a reception terminal from a transmission terminal, the method comprising: detecting a magnitude of a noise signal peripheral to the reception terminal; checking a volume level which is set in the reception terminal while the voice signal is received from the transmission terminal; and increasing, in the reception terminal, at least one of a volume of the voice signal included in each of a plurality of frequency bands and a volume of a portion of the voice signal included in a portion less than all of the frequency bands, on the basis of the magnitude of the noise signal and the checked volume level.
A method enhances voice signals received on a device (reception terminal) from another device (transmission terminal) in noisy environments. It involves detecting the noise level around the receiving device, checking the current volume setting of the receiving device, and then increasing either the overall volume of the voice signal across multiple frequency bands or increasing the volume of only a portion of the voice signal within a subset of those frequency bands. The volume increase is adjusted based on both the detected noise level and the user's volume setting.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the increasing at least one of the volume of the voice signal and the volume of the portion of the voice signal comprises: increasing the volume of the voice signal by a first amount when the checked volume level is a first level; and increasing the volume of the voice signal by a second amount, less than the first amount, when the checked volume level is a second level, greater than the first level.
Building on the voice enhancement method described previously, the amount the voice signal's volume is increased is dependent on the current volume level of the receiving device. If the volume is set to a lower level (first level), the voice signal volume is increased by a larger amount (first amount). If the volume is set higher (second level, greater than the first), the voice signal volume is increased by a smaller amount (second amount, less than the first). This prevents the signal from becoming too loud when the user already has the volume up.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the increasing at least one of the volume of the voice signal and the volume of the portion of the voice signal comprises: increasing the volume of the portion of the voice signal by a first amount when the checked volume level is a first level; and increasing the volume of the portion of the voice signal by a second amount, greater than the first amount, when the checked volume level is a second level, greater than the first level.
Building on the voice enhancement method described previously, the amount the portion of the voice signal's volume is increased is dependent on the current volume level of the receiving device. If the volume is set to a lower level (first level), the volume of the portion of the voice signal is increased by a smaller amount (first amount). However, if the volume is set higher (second level, greater than the first), the volume of the portion of the voice signal is increased by a greater amount (second amount, greater than the first).
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the increasing at least one of the volume of the voice signal and the volume of the portion of the voice signal comprises: increasing the volume of the portion of the voice signal by a first amount when the checked volume level is a first level; and increasing the volume of the portion of the voice signal by a second amount, exponentially greater than the first amount, when the checked volume level is a second level, greater than the first level.
Building on the voice enhancement method described previously, the amount the portion of the voice signal's volume is increased is dependent on the current volume level of the receiving device. If the volume is set to a lower level (first level), the volume of the portion of the voice signal is increased by a smaller amount (first amount). However, if the volume is set higher (second level, greater than the first), the volume of the portion of the voice signal is increased by an exponentially greater amount (second amount, exponentially greater than the first).
5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the increasing at least one of the volume of the voice signal and the volume of the portion of the voice signal comprises: increasing at least one of the volume of the voice signal and the volume of the portion of the voice signal by a first amount when the magnitude of the noise signal has a first value; and increasing at least one of the volume of the voice signal and the volume of the portion of the voice signal by a second amount, greater than the first amount, when the magnitude of the noise signal has a second value greater than the first value.
Building on the voice enhancement method described previously, the amount the voice signal's volume (either the whole signal or just a portion) is increased depends on the detected noise level. If the noise level is low (first value), the volume is increased by a smaller amount (first amount). If the noise level is high (second value, greater than the first), the volume is increased by a larger amount (second amount, greater than the first).
6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the increasing at least one of the volume of the voice signal and the volume of the portion of the voice signal comprises: increasing at least one of the volume of the voice signal and the volume of the portion of the voice signal such that a magnitude of the increased voice signal or the increased portion of the voice signal does not exceed a maximum magnitude value of the voice signal corresponding to the checked volume level, on the basis of maximum voice magnitude information for each volume which represents the maximum magnitude value of the voice signal which the reception terminal outputs for each volume level.
Building on the voice enhancement method described previously, the increase in voice signal volume (either the whole signal or a portion) is limited by the maximum volume that the receiving device can output at the current volume level. The system uses stored information about the maximum voice signal magnitude for each volume setting to ensure that the enhanced voice signal doesn't exceed the device's capabilities at that level, preventing distortion or clipping.
7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the increasing of the volume of the portion of the voice signal comprises: dividing the voice signal into the plurality of frequency bands for the voice signal; and increasing the volume of the portion of the voice signal comprised in a first frequency band of the plurality of frequency bands.
Building on the voice enhancement method described previously, increasing the volume of a *portion* of the voice signal involves first dividing the voice signal into multiple frequency bands. Then, the volume is only increased for the components of the voice signal that fall within a specific frequency band (first frequency band) out of all the bands.
8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the detecting the magnitude of the noise signal comprises detecting the magnitude of the noise signal received by the reception terminal before receiving a voice signal from a user and the voice signal from the transmission terminal.
Building on the voice enhancement method described previously, the noise level detection happens *before* the voice signal is actually received from the sending device and before a user's voice is picked up. This allows the receiving device to prepare for potential noise interference and adjust the volume enhancement accordingly before the voice signal arrives.
9. The method of claim 8 , wherein the detecting the magnitude of the noise signal received by the reception terminal before receiving the voice signal from the user and the voice signal from the transmission terminal comprises detecting the magnitude of the noise signal by converting the noise signal into a frequency domain and detecting an energy magnitude of the converted noise signal.
Building on the noise level detection described previously, the process involves converting the detected noise into the frequency domain and then determining the energy level (magnitude) of the noise within that frequency domain. This frequency domain analysis allows for a more precise assessment of the noise's impact on different parts of the voice signal.
10. An apparatus which enhances a voice signal received from a transmission terminal, the apparatus comprising: a noise detection unit comprising a processor which detects a magnitude of a noise signal peripheral to a reception terminal; a voice reception unit which receives the voice signal from the transmission terminal; a volume level check unit which checks a volume level which is set in the reception terminal while the voice signal is received from the transmission terminal; and a voice enhancement unit which increases at least one of a volume of the voice signal included in each of a plurality of frequency bands and a volume of a portion of the voice signal included in a portion less than all of the frequency bands, on the basis of the magnitude of the noise signal and the checked volume level.
A device for improving voice signals received from another device includes a noise detector (processor) that measures the ambient noise level. It also has a receiver for capturing the incoming voice signal, a module that checks the receiving device's volume setting, and a voice enhancement unit. The enhancement unit increases either the overall voice signal volume across multiple frequency bands, or it increases the volume of only a portion of the voice signal in a subset of frequency bands. The amount of increase is based on both the detected noise and the current volume level.
11. The apparatus of claim 10 , wherein the voice enhancement unit increases the volume of the voice signal by a first amount when the checked volume level is a first level, and increases the volume of the voice signal by a second amount, less than the first amount, when the checked volume level is a second level, greater than the first level.
Building on the voice enhancement device described previously, the amount the voice signal's volume is increased is dependent on the current volume level of the receiving device. If the volume is set to a lower level (first level), the voice signal volume is increased by a larger amount (first amount). If the volume is set higher (second level, greater than the first), the voice signal volume is increased by a smaller amount (second amount, less than the first).
12. The apparatus of claim 10 , wherein the voice enhancement unit increases the volume of the portion of the voice signal by a first amount when the checked volume level is a first level, and increases the volume of the portion of the voice signal by a second amount, greater than the first amount, when the checked volume level is a second level, greater than the first level.
Building on the voice enhancement device described previously, the amount the portion of the voice signal's volume is increased is dependent on the current volume level of the receiving device. If the volume is set to a lower level (first level), the volume of the portion of the voice signal is increased by a smaller amount (first amount). However, if the volume is set higher (second level, greater than the first), the volume of the portion of the voice signal is increased by a greater amount (second amount, greater than the first).
13. The apparatus of claim 10 , wherein the voice enhancement unit increases the volume of the portion of the voice signal by a first amount when the checked volume level is a first level, and increases the volume of the portion of the voice signal by a second amount, exponentially greater than the first amount, when the checked volume level is a second level, greater than the first level.
Building on the voice enhancement device described previously, the amount the portion of the voice signal's volume is increased is dependent on the current volume level of the receiving device. If the volume is set to a lower level (first level), the volume of the portion of the voice signal is increased by a smaller amount (first amount). However, if the volume is set higher (second level, greater than the first), the volume of the portion of the voice signal is increased by an exponentially greater amount (second amount, exponentially greater than the first).
14. The apparatus of claim 10 , wherein the voice enhancement unit increases at least one of the volume of the voice signal and the volume of the portion of the voice signal by a first amount when the magnitude of the noise signal has a first value, and increases at least one of the volume of the voice signal and the volume of the portion of the voice signal by a second amount, greater than the first amount, when the magnitude of the noise signal has a second value greater than the first value.
Building on the voice enhancement device described previously, the amount the voice signal's volume (either the whole signal or just a portion) is increased depends on the detected noise level. If the noise level is low (first value), the volume is increased by a smaller amount (first amount). If the noise level is high (second value, greater than the first), the volume is increased by a larger amount (second amount, greater than the first).
15. The apparatus of claim 10 , wherein the voice enhancement unit increases at least one of the volume of the voice signal and the volume of the portion of the voice signal such that a magnitude of the increased volume of the voice signal or the increased volume of the portion does not exceed a maximum magnitude value of the voice signal corresponding to the checked volume level, on the basis of maximum voice magnitude information for each volume which represents the maximum magnitude value of the voice signal which the reception terminal outputs for each volume level.
Building on the voice enhancement device described previously, the increase in voice signal volume (either the whole signal or a portion) is limited by the maximum volume that the receiving device can output at the current volume level. The system uses stored information about the maximum voice signal magnitude for each volume setting to ensure that the enhanced voice signal doesn't exceed the device's capabilities at that level, preventing distortion or clipping.
16. A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium storing a program for executing the method of claim 1 .
A non-transitory computer-readable medium (like a USB drive or hard drive) contains a program that, when executed, carries out the voice enhancement method. The method involves detecting noise level, checking volume setting, and increasing the volume of either the whole voice signal or a portion of it, based on the noise and volume levels, as described in the initial method for enhancing voice signals received on a device from another device in noisy environments.
Cooperative Patent Classification codes for this invention. Click any code to explore related patents in that topic.
December 1, 2010
September 17, 2013
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